The general manager of 3AW, Shane Healy, said that the timeslot of the Drive program would ‘‘probably’’ extend by an hour, to run from 3pm, rather than 4pm.

This would take the program to run in direct competition with Rafael Epstein’s drive program on 774 ABC Melbourne, 3AW’s biggest ratings rival.

Mr Healy said that the timeslot change, which would cut Denis Walter’s Afternoons program from four hours to three, had ‘‘almost been finalised’’.

Mr Healy said Elliott had ‘‘done an excellent job’’ filling in for Hinch last year, ‘‘and we believe he can take the program in a slightly different direction’’.

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‘‘It will still be very much a current affairs program, just with a different presenter, maybe a broader array of content and we’re pretty pleased with that,’’ he said on his own station this morning.

‘‘Now I know a lot of people have been disappointed, angered, et cetera [at Hinch’s sacking ... but] we want to keep positioning 3AW to be the best station in Australia, not just now, but in three, five and 10 years and we’re not going to just sit on our hands and remain where we are.

‘‘The change occurs while Derryn is, great to say, healthy, and the change occurs while Derryn is performing well. We’re not prepared to wait for that program to possibly sink into a decline or a demise; it’s best to make that change while Derryn is performing strongly.’’

Mr Healy said most of the complaints about Hinch’s sacking were made on-air and on 3AW’s website. He did not believe that the decision would harm ratings.

He said that there was ‘‘certainly’’ a possibility that the program would decline, but denied that Hinch had been fired because of his many campaigns.

‘‘It’s our responsibility to ensure the station is as strong as it is now ... this is one program we feel can be broadened and can be improved,’’ he said.

‘‘We would like the content to broaden ... it will still be current affairs, it will be broader current affairs and it will be done by a presenter who I think can just take it ... in a slightly different direction.

‘‘He [Elliott] is very well received, he is someone who I think ... can have a long and successful career on 3AW and we’re pretty confident about that.’’

Mr Healy said he did not think that Elliott’s membership of the Liberal Party was important.

‘‘He’s presented on the station and it hasn’t been a problem. I don’t see it as a problem. That’s one thing Tom can have a think about,’’ he said.

Elliott, the son of former Liberal Party president John Elliott, told 3AW this morning that he had not renewed that membership.

Mr Healy said that if Hinch wanted to work elsewhere within the network owned by Fairfax Radio, he could.